Isaac and Dylan, uncut

Dylan discovered goggles the other day. And he found a "swimmer-diver" snorkel in with his toys. We put them together and he had fun. His nose isn't covered, so it wasn't that effective - he still lifted his head to breath and got water in the snorkel. (And laughing isn't good for using a snorkel either.)
So he used the goggles w/o the snorkel.

This is exactly what I never thought I'd do. I don't care if kids who can swim use floaty toys like this, on occassion, but this is giving Isaac false confidence and is getting him slightly vertical. NOT good, but look how much he loves it. (And that's how I got the video of his little legs kicking.)
Isaac is at an unsafe phase. He's not scared of the water, and thinks he can swim. He really wants to go to the deep end, and starts to get irritated with me when I hold him. He wants to go where he wants to go, and wants me to be where he wants me to be. Yes, Lacey, he's ornery. He's sweet and loves his mommy, loves to give kisses, is really good at sharing- usually, loves to jump off of anything - even our coffee table, but onery is a good word for him.

Dylan liked the goggles that first time, and to get him out of the pool, I let him keep them on in the tub.
Dylan looks like he's a Kung Fu snorkeler here. He's really good at it! We're going to have so much fun in the Keys next year. (WITH kids.)

Sleep Over Activity (a "lets clean up" trick)

Corrie's going to watch the kids at my house in the morning b/c it's so hot and she doesn't have a pool. When Noah naps, the kids will get to go swimming.

So Malia is sleeping over. Dylan is so excited because he has somebody else to help him look for bugs. He gets out his flash light every night and wants to go look for his bugs. Betsey knows what bugs I'm talking about. They're still a hit! They have to clean up toys to find the bugs [that I hid]. Great game, the living room and playroom are straitened!

All 3 kids had flash lights, but since the sun wasn't down yet, they put on sunglasses. I like this picture because their hair is still wet from their bath, and Isaac is showing me one of the bugs they found. Malia is toting a bag with the bugs she found. Dylan's not matching, but he has his Rays-like PJ shorts on. He doesn't wear PJ pants any more. Maybe again at winter time, but these will still be under them I bet.

I.Z. & No-E.

Sometimes I call Isaac, "I.Z. (all blended into one word)." I don't want anybody else calling him that, but it just comes out. I still say something like "Schmoo" or "Shmay" when I'm saying "It's okay, Shmay (make it two syllables: Shm-Aye)." Wierd I know. I catch myself saying it when Dylan tries to copy. Does anybody else ever say funny terms of endearment like that? I used to say "Little Dylan Head," but that's long gone. "Pookie" or "Pookie-pie" came out of my mouth for Dylan too. For Noah, I call him "No-Ee." I've since heard Corrie say it, so maybe there are just natural things that come out with certain names. I'm so glad we didn't go with "Donovan" for Dylan. It's a fine name, but I wouldn't like the nick names that are natural with that, and I wouldn't be able to tell people to stop saying it like Steven assumed we should do. I'm sure I would have come up with something silly on my own, much less strangers. It's 3 syllables - bound to be shortened or lengthened.

So here are my little I.Z. and No-E. They're so cute. They usually play so well together, but I have to warn poor Noah with this shirt.
See?

Look at Noah's right leg- a smile made by Isaac's 6 front teeth.
I hadn't even noticed it 'til they were eating their fruit salad. Maybe Noah is getting tougher, poor baby.

Isaac is in the shoes and hats phase now. I thought they looked so playful and funny with their long locks sticking out over their ears from under the hats, so I backed them up against a wall for a picture before their inevitable haircuts.

Isaac is so animated when he signs "cold." I'm sure I'm the one who showed him, so it's a funny mini-mirror image of myself I guess. Then he thought the knob on the air vent looked like a flower, so I attempted to ask him to sign/say a couple of other words. I should do it with a list in front of me b/c I was drawing a blank. He's quite the talker these days, and if I would just show him more signs, he would have that language mastered by now. I wish I were rich, I'd hire a private tutor for my kids.

Baby Kicks

A 4 sec video that I'm adicted to:

"Sprinkles-on-a-Stick"

Isaac says "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY for Lacey!" Lacey guessed it, sorry for the agony, kinda:) I'll do it again though.Steven surprised Dylan and let him light some sparkler-thingies last night. They really are on a wooden stick, and they really do sprinkle down. Dylan has been asking and I kept telling him we had to wait 'til the 4th of July.He really is blessed (or spoiled,) but he likes to thank us, and his Heavenly Father for the fun things he gets to do and have!

Say What, Dylan?

We just said prayers. Dylan repeated his thanks for the fun things we did today like try to go to the beach, play at the playground, kill bugs outside, jump on couch coushions, and bake cupcakes. He opened his eyes and said, "And for sprinkles on a stick!" I was going to just go with it and assumed it was the sprinkles that were in the funfetti cake mix, but had no clue what he meant with the stick part. It couldn't be the sticks we had used to clear away spider webs on his swings earlier. So I asked him before finnishing the prayer.

It really was sprinkles-on-a-stick, just before we had gone to bed, he was right to wonder how I left that out of our prayer. Do you know what he's talking about? I'll add pics sometime tomorrow, because I had just taken pics and a short video of him and Steven with their "sprinkles-on-a-stick."

I have to look up mission statements and write one now for my PCDHA meeting in the morning.

I Need A Massage. You?

Buy a Gift Certificate for

$10 off !!!!!!!!!

You probably know that I trade babysitting with my friend Corrie. She's Noah and Malia's mom. We both have bachelor's degrees, yet both work in fields that don't need them. I'm a dental hygienist, and she's a massage therapist. We love that these professions allow us to just work 2 or 3 days so we can watch our kids grow (and bite each other.)

She works for Spa Jardin 3 days/week, but also does private massages. I asked her if I could make and give a gift certificate to one of my friends b/c she was stressed out planning a big event. Then we had the idea to order a bunch of gift certs.

Now I'm pre-selling them for $10 off! She usually charges $60 for a private massage (she'll go to your house), but if you buy them through me, the gift cert is just $50 for an hour massage!

(She does pregnancy massages! And we could work something out for 90 min or has friends for couples massages. There's a blank for what you want, we'll work it out.) So, if you live in the Tampa Bay area, email me! I'll hand you or mail you your gift certificate(s) that you can use for yourself, or hold to give as gifts for Christmas or something. There's no expiration date! And yes I've used her. And I have an appointment for Wednesday - can't WAIT! Here's Corrie with her husband in Key West 2 weeks ago, (so she's not a stranger showing up to give you your massage!)

Father's Day (last post I promise)

I didn't stay up late like usual, so I had to get up early, which I really did - before the sunshine! I made breakfast and took it to Steven in bed just after he woke up to Isaac.

After church, we went to eat with my Step-dad. He's silly and had saved that burger and fries I had given him 2 days before. He showed it off and made me feel special. He has a way of making people feel welcome and good. My mom played with Dylan and Isaac outside. They LOVE going over there after church. To keep with the grilling theme, I made Dylan and Isaac each a coordinating apron or bib. We didn't grill the steaks 'til Monday night b/c we were so full from our 3pm meal. Of course I wish I could have spent Father's Day with my own dad, but it was still a good day.

Father's Day Eve Sunset

Isaac and I have a similar expression here. Why isn't he excited to be at the beach? (and there's food in his mouth.)Steven built them sand castles then a pile of sand, then a tunnel and a race track. Which I had to keep them away from 'til he was all done.
Yea, he's the World's Greatest Dad in his superhero stance.
Is Isaac trying to climb in after the truck?
They played a little soccer/keep away
Which lead to tackling and sand in the face
Steven just wanted to take pictures of his kids' silly faces for Father's Day Oh yea, and of his wife. You can imagine how sandy these boys were. All 3 boys.

Fishing for Father's Day - Finally

For Steven's first Father's Day, I bought him a fishing pole. I pictured our son fishing with his daddy. It just seemed like the thing to do for Father's Day. Steven couldn't really picture fishing with a baby and thought it was silly. That fishing pole stayed in the trunk of my Camry for a year. I almost gave it to Marc a couple of times but held onto the hope that Dylan and Steven would some day fish - for Father's Day.
This year, Dylan kept asking to go fishing. Every retention pond, river, lake, or ocean we drove past or over, he would say that he wants to go fishing there. I started telling him to ask Daddy. He got the idea that he wanted to go fishing on a motor boat. Steven loves deep sea fishing, so he booked a tour. Dylan was free! I put the floaty on my camera and kissed them goodbye. (Actually, they got up before I did. I woke up but went back to sleep and overslept for my visiting teaching day.)
Dylan and Steven were both so excited! Dylan kept asking when they could go fishing b/c it took a while to drive to the fishing spot. I wish I had packed his little sunglasses, but Daddy came through and shared his. Dylan told me that he fell off of the bench. He had a red mark on his back. The boat was a little rocky at times. Here's the bench. It was a little too far away from the side for Dylan to use it. There's only a little part of me that wishes I was there. I get sea sick so easily on an anchored boat. Dylan must have loved it.
Steven said it was a little too long for Dylan, but it was just a half day, so it was a little short for Steven. It was really hot, as you can imagine.
All worth it though!
They caught 3 fishies!
The Father's Day picture I always wanted!
Steven cooked the fish on our grill. Dylan liked it. We'll try different seasonings for next time though. Dylan knew that he had caught his own dinner and was proud.

Try To Touch A Tarpon

There's a must-see place called Robbie's at mile marker 77.5 in the Keys.

Look at Steven's hand as he fed one of the humungus Tarpon!

Close call!

Diaper Cowboy

Isaac's a little dare devil. Uncle JT came over to return my phone that I left over there, and it was time to put the boys in PJs. Isaac wanted to show off for his uncle a bit. He rides Prickly Pete so fast now. Then he stands up. Then, he surprised us all by standing up on the saddle! - and still rocking!Steven ran over to spot him. Isaac was so proud of himself.
Then he thought it was funny how hard it was for Uncle JT to put PJs on. See the neck hole? JT said he was done at this point, then he left. I love Isaac's silly disbelief or disappointment as JT is pushing himself up and away. Silly boys.